cameron



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

A. CAMERON; WELL SI'NKING MACHINE.

No. 443,486. Patented Dec. 23, 1890'.

M6602) JW 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ARTHUR CAMERON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR-TO FREDERICK C. AUSTIN, OF SAME PLACE.-

WELL-SINKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,486, dated December 23, 1890.

Application filed November 19, 1889. Serial No. 330,924. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR CAMERON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi-. nois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Well-Sinking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to well-sinking machines of that class in which the lift-and-drop motion of a drill for preparing a way for the well-tube is attained by the alternate winding and unwinding of its suspending rope or cord from a drum which is loose upon a continuously-drivenshaft, but alternately and automatically connected with and disconnected from, the driving-power, so as to first rotate the drum in a direction to wind up the drill-rope and then release the drum, so as to permit the pull of the drill-rope to turn the drum in a connection to allow said rope to unwind, and the sinking of the well-tube through which the drill rod or holder works, effected by the action of a ham mer-block, which is first lifted to a suitable height and then allowed to drop so as to strike the upper end of the well-tube. Prior to my invention the hammer-block has been suspended from an overhead pulley by a cord or the like, extending from the hammer-block up to said pulley, and thence down to a winding-spool keyed as a fixture upon one end of the shaft upon which the drum for the drillrope is loosely mounted, as aforesaid. With such arrangement the rope from the hammerblock has been passed about the windingspool and extended beyond the same, so as to leave a considerable length of free-end portion, which at such times as the hammer-block is to remain idle is permitted to lie upon the ground, as illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 371,548, of October 18, 1887. In order to operate said hammer-block, it has therefore been customary and necessary f or an attendant to take hold of the free end of the rope, pull upon the same so as to cause the rope to take a firm bite upon the constantlyq'evolving spool, and hence permit the latter to wind up the rope, and then to either suddenly let go of the rope or slacken up its free-end portion so as to allow the coil on the drum to loosen itself, and thereby permit the hammer-block to drop and unwind the coil. This operation has manifest disadvantages. Thus the services of an extra attendant is generally necessary. Time is lost in picking up and dropping the rope unless an extra attendant is employed to hold the rope, and if one only is employed the said attendant, whose duty it is to attend to the drilling operation, must at times neglect his work in such respect in order to attend to the hammer-block, and, moreover, there is considerable danger of winding the hammer-block rope on the continuonsly-rotating spool to such extent that although the attendant may release the free end of the rope the latter will continue to wind upon the spool.

The object of my invention is to overcome all of the foregoing defects in well-sinking machines of the kind hereinbefore referred to, to render it practical and easy for a single attendant to attend to the drilling and the tube-sinking operations, to avoid loss of time, to permit the quick use of the hammer block at moments when its operation is most needed, to save labor, and to permit a rapid succession of actions on the part of the hammer-block to be readily made.

In a well-sinking machine characterized by my invention the loose drill-rope drum (as I may term the drum for alternately winding and unwinding the rope, cord, or chain which connects it with the reciprocating drill rod or holder) can be alternately connected with and disconnected from the continuously-op crating driving-power by any suitable intermittingly operating automatic latching or looking or clutch device. The winding spool or drum for the hammer-block, rope, cord, or chain, in place of being permanently connected with the driving-power, is loose and normally disconnected therefrom, but is subject to a suitable latching or looking or clutch device under the control of the attendant, who can at will operate the same so as to alternately connect and disconnect the said hammer-block drum (as I may term it) with and from the driving-power, in order to attain the alternate winding and unwinding of the hammen-block rope.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in perspective a portion of a wellsinking machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents on a larger. scale the two drums and adjuncts, the drum for the hammer-block cord being shown in longitudinal 5 central section. Figs. 3 and at respectively represent the clutch-lever in position to place the clutch in engagement with the drum and the clutch-lever in position to place the clutch out of connection with the drum.

In said drawings, A indicates the derrick, which is provided with elevated pulleys, over which ropes or the like from the drums B and C may pass. The rope c from drum 0 is shown connected with the drill-rod D, which is understood to extend down through the well-tube E, so that the drill at the lower end of the drill-rod may during the operation bore a hole for the well-tube. The drill-rope drum 0 is loose upon a rotary shaft 1 which is understood to be driven by suitably-applied power in one direction, and as a mode of alternately locking the drum C upon the shaft and unlocking it therefrom I prefer to employ means such as set forth in my application, Serial No. 327,649, filed on or about October 21, 1889, although I do not limit myself to such means, since various known and suitable constructions of automatically-operatinglatchin g or looking de\ ices for alternately connecting 0 and disconnecting the drill-rope drum with and from the driving-power can be employed. The cord 1) from the ham mer-block drum B is shown connected with a hammenblock G, by which the well-tube can be driven down, and 3 5 as a means for alternately lifting the hammer block and permitting, it to drop I arrange said winding-drum B loose upon the shaft- E, and provide in connection therewith a friction-clutch H, which may be of any suitable construction. In my said former application I have illustrated various constructions of clutches in connection with the drum C, and it is herein understood that any of said constructions can be adopted in connection with the hanuner-block drum B; and, also, that while I prefer a friction-clutch subject in its operation to the will of an attendant, other devices, such as latching or locking devices under control of the attendant, could be used. While the clutch II can be automatically operated from the shaft F, I prefer operating it by a hand-lever II, (or, as its equivalent in this case, a foot-lever,) it being understood that in this class of machinery a single blow of the hammer-block may serve to drive down the well-tube as far as necessary in a hole or way prepared for the same by a series of actions on the part ofthe drill. By operating the lever the drum B can through the medium of the clutch be looked upon the driving-shaft, and hence caused to rotate therewith, so as to wind up the cord Z) thereon and thereby draw up the ham inerblock. As soon, however, as the hammerblock has been lifted to a suitable extent, the operator can operate the lever so as to shift the clutch in a way to unlock the drum, whereupon the pull of the cord 1) will cause the drum to turn in a direction to allow the cord to unwind therefrom, and hence allow the hammer-block to drop and strike the upper end of the well-tube. By such arrange mentthe stroke of the hammer-block can be accurately timed and the service of an extra attendant for attending to the drum B dispensed with, since the single attendant, who is present to oversee the drill-rod-operating device, can also attend to the clutch ll.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth,in a well-sinking machine, of a reciprocating rod or holder for the drill by which a way is prepared for the well-tube, the reciprocating hammer-block for driving down the well-tube as the said way is prepared for its reception, a loose winding-drum connected with the hammer-block by a rope or equivalent means, an intermittingly-operating clutch or locking device for automatically connecting and disconnecting the drillrope drum with and from the driving-power, and a clutch or locking device for connecting and disconnecting the hammer-block drum from the driving-power at the will of the attendant.

2. In a well-sinking machine, the hereindescribed arrangement of the drums loosely arranged upon a rotary driving-shaft, ropes or equivalent means for connecting the drums, respectively, with the drill-rod and a hammer-block, an antomatically-operated clutch for alternately connecting and disconnecting the drill-rope drum with and from the shaft, and a hand-operated clutch for alternately connecting and disconnecting the hammerblock drum with and from said shaft, for the purpose set forth.

ARTHUR CAMERON.

Witnesses:

CHAS. G. PAGE, ANNIE L. Coarns. 

